A Conversation with Graham Stookey – HuffPost 5.25.11
Mike Ragogna: Graham Stookey, you’re inspired by Lenny Kravitz, right?
Graham Stookey: Yeah, I love Lenny Kravitz.
MR: I hear you’re finishing up your last year of high school?
GS: Yes, in Littleton, Colorado.
MR: So, you’re a singer/songwriter who’s also pretty good on guitar, and you posted a video on YouTube called “If Justin Bieber Can Be Famous Why Can’t I?”
GS: Yes, my friend posted it. It was a typical Sunday night on October 26th, 2010. I was just sitting in my basement with a buddy and playing a song that I had been messing with and writing. He said, “Can I just film that? It’s cool and we will put it on Youtube.” At first, I was hesitant and then, finally, I allowed him to film it. He put it on Youtube, didn’t think anything of it, and a week later, the video went viral. I’m sitting in chemistry class at high school and my buddy texted me and said, “Do you know what your Youtube video is doing?” I said that the last I checked, it was 10,000 views which I thought was incredible. He goes on to say, “Now, it’s at 25,000 views!” So, I freak out and run home. When I got home, it was at 50,000 views and then, by that night, it hit a hundred thousand. After that, it was pretty much chaos.
MR: What’s it at right now?
GS: At first, I was freaking out about how many views it had, but lately I’ve been so busy I haven’t really checked. Last time I checked it was a couple days ago and I think it was three hundred and ten thousand.
MR: Which led to you’re being deiscovered by Ryan Seacrest, kind of. Can you take us through that story?
GS: Yeah I will walk you through it. It’s not a very long story because it has only been four months since the video blew up. First, when the video went viral, I got a few interest from labels, like CBS reached out. Honestly, I was a bit overwhelmed because I am a suburban kid, I have no experience in Hollywood world or anything like that. I definitely needed help, so I got contacted by this guy named Ben. He was offering me free advice at first and just kind of kept helping me. He gave me good advice like registering my domain name for a URL for a website and other great advice. I really latched on to him because he was giving me great advice and I needed a lot of it because I was getting talked to by labels and other stuff. Anyway, he and his business partner Brian flew out the next day and offered me a management deal because I was so new to the whole thing. So, I had these managers that came from film and TV. They had connections with the Seacrest people. Then, we flew out to LA a few times, we met with some labels, met with some publishing firms–logistical kind of meetings. That’s when Ryan Seacrest invited me to go play in his green room. So, I played a couple of songs and I was super-nervous because I’m playing for the CEO of Ryan Seacrest Productions and it’s pretty nerve wracking. I got kind of cold and clammy for that performances, but I ended up doing it and it was great. I flew out a couple of times, and we are still in the beginning stages of it. Looking back at a couple of months ago, I see how early in the game it was just because I had nothing. I kept writing music and I’ve been writing still. One thing lead to another and we realized we needed to release some songs because of the demand on Youtube, but we didn’t have a label. So, we decided to self produce an EP that’s available on iTunes right now. It’s called The Basement Tracks EP. We met with a producer out of LA and payed with it out of our own pockets for the EP. Yeah, I was out there for a week recording a three track EP…it’s actually four because there are two versions of “Jonah.” One is the full version and one is the radio edit. That was great, I had never been in a studio before, so that experience was just educational as well as entertaining and fun.
MR: How did you assemble the band for this?
GS: They were studio musicians that were so amazing. We hired the musicians, the producer, and the mixing team straight out of pocket. So, honestly, I’ve been using mommy and daddy’s money up until this point.
MR: Okay, here’s where we introduce the concept of IndieGoGo.
GS: I was about to bring that in. I’m trying to stand on my own two feet, I’m eighteen, and a second semester student in high school…I kind of want to get out of my basement, so we have the IndieGogo.com campaign happening. Pretty much in a nutshell, it’s a campaign where fans can go there and I can communicate with them directly. But also, they can donate a certain amount of money, and depending on how much you donate, you get a certain perk associated with it. If you donate $15, you get a signed copy of the EP sent to you in the mail. It goes all the way too. If you donate a certain amount of money, you get to be in a music video, eventually. So, the goal was $15,000 which we raised, so that will cover my EP cost and it’s going to help fund a sick music video. Also, we’re trying to go farther then the $15,000 so I can go out to New York to meet with labels. I just need money so I can fly to these places and I need the money to eat (laughs). Every little bit helps.
MR: Fess up. You’re skipping class to do this interview.
GS: Actually yeah, I’m playing hooky right now. (laughs) I’m unfortunately skipping, right?
MR: Well, it’s for a good cause.
GS: It is for a good cause, I’m not complaining.
MR: Can you tell us about your Oprah performance?
GS: With the Oprah thing, I was at school again and I get a text from my mom, which is surprising because she is so technologically dysfunctional, it’s ridiculous. She texts me and says, “You’ll never guess who just called me.” I call her as soon as I get out of class and she said, “A producer from Oprah just called the house,” so I ran home and called him back. He interviews me on the phone and, at first, it was very general, just trying to get the story going because what I ended up learning was they were doing a show on youthful talent, the show was titled “The Worlds Most Talented Kids.” So, I talked to him back and forth, and we communicated for weeks. The problem was I was too old. The kids on the show were nine and ten, so it was a throw up whether I was going to even get on the show or not because I was too old. Ultimately, they decided to let me on the show, which I was eternally grateful for. We fly out to Chicago–one day of rehearsal and the second day was filming. I go out and do my thing, I was nervous, and the first few notes I played were a little shaky, but I eased into it. I get done and Oprah and Willow Smith were there, she was co-hosting it with Oprah. They come out and start asking me questions, as rehearsed, and the way it was rehearsed, they told me that I was going to play electric guitar out to break. Oprah would say something like, “Oh we hear you play electric guitar too, would you like to play us out to break?” Then, I would pick up the guitar and jam out till they went out to commercial. But she brings up Lenny Kravitz and I immediately get caught off guard because it wasn’t a part of the script. Then it hits me and I’m thinking, “No way is she going to pull an Oprah and bring Lenny Kravitz out.” Sure enough she brings Lenny Kravitz out in all of his rockstar glory, with his sunglasses and the v-neck and the boots. I nearly passed out.
MR: But you did get to jam with him though right?
GS: Oh, I did for a good two minutes or something. It was the greatest two minutes of my life.
MR: You’re also a Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix fan am I wrong?
GS: Of course, all of the great dead guitar players, right?
MR: So, you reportedly, went to a concert and it inspired you to be a guitar player.
GS: Totally, yeah. To give you a little bit of a musical background on myself, my dad is a musician and he plays the saxophone and the piano. I just grew up around music. He loved jazz, so I grew up listening to Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. I just have a very versatile musical background. My dad started me off on piano lessons when I was 7. I was classically trained in piano until I was 16, but when I was 13, I picked up the electric guitar and I took lessons throughout junior high. I got really into shred death metal, which is kind of embarrassing now because I have pictures of my long hair. I was a total metal head and shredded and went to all of the metal shows. I was really into the electric guitar, so I sat in my basement and played my electric guitar all the day. I learned the riffs of Stevie Ray and Eddie Van Halen and all of these metal bands and stuff.
MR: Were you a skaterboy too?
GS: I tried my hand in skateboarding, but I was never really athletically inclined. I was more the musician type than the athlete.
MR: And you’d have to protect your hands too.
GS: (laughs) That’s right. Anyway, I get into high school and I realized my chances of kissing a girl was non-existent with my long hair. I cut my hair and picked up an acoustic guitar and started jamming out on an acoustic guitar. That concert you brought up was a Phil Keaggy concert. That was my first concert I ever went to, my dad took me, and it blew my mind. Then I saw John Mayer at the Red Rock Amphitheater, it’s the greatest venue of all time. I was a metal head at the time and for a metal head to be at a John Mayer concert was a big no-no. I was kind of skeptical, and I only got to go because it was free because my dad got free tickets to the concert. I’m watching him play a song called “Neon” and I’m watching his fingers, and he is only using his thumb and his index finger–like how is he doing that? So, I got interested in the acoustic guitar, picked it up, cut the hair and I actually started listening to the lyrics of songs, and the lyrical part of music hit me. Suddenly, oh my gosh, there is a whole other side of music than just guitar playing, there is a lyrical side. Then, I just started writing music and then started doodling in my basement some more and posted the video.
MR: John Mayer is very influential, he is almost the godfather of the singer-songwriter revival.
GS: I kind of agree. He was my greatest inspiration as a singer songwriter and then Jason Mraz is huge for me as well as Jack Johnson. There all of these great singer/songwriters, James Taylor is huge.
MR: Do you think listening to older artists led to more of a depth when it comes to your musical approach?
GS: Oh, I would have to say yes. It leads to a way deeper level of musical integrity. I think it comes from the discipline of learning the licks of Stevie Ray Vaughan or the licks of Jimi Hendrix. It really comes down to discipline–you learn the trade, you learn the licks, and in that discipline, you have to be analytical about it. You have to put the time into it, and you actually fall in love with it as a result. You have to devote your entire self to doing so, and I think that’s a byproduct of all of that.
MR: What about depth when it comes to your creativity?
GS: I’m a super analytical guy, I analyze everything. I’m over-analytical, it screws me with chicks. So, everything I do and every day of my life, I analyze everything, from what someone says to what I’m saying. I think that’s where the depth of my thinking comes in. I also read a lot of books, so I’m constantly working my mind out along with working my fingers on the fretboard.
MR: If you get the mind going, you get the heart going with that.
GS: Exactly, for sure. I’m the kind of kid that wears his heart on his sleeve and gets screwed over by girls all the time. So, my heart is definitely on the line and contributes to my music. Not only am I thinking and getting the intellectual part of it, I feel a lot. I’m a lover, not a fighter.
MR: Thank you MJ.
GS: (laughs) I wouldn’t compare myself to MJ.
MR: Were you a Michael Jackson fan?
GS: Are you kidding? He was the king?
MR: What other influences do you have? Were you also a Stevie Wonder fan?
GS: I love him, that whole Motown movement. That whole thing that happened back then, I eat it up. My parents introduced me to that. The Temptations, that kind of thing. Motown is one of my favorite eras of musical history ever.
MR: Did anybody turn you on to the Atlantic era of music? Like Sam & Dave and The Drifters.
GS: Yeah, I’ve listened to some of The Drifters.
MR: What about the Stax roster?
GS: Yes, a lot of that. I definitely also had a southern rock phase for a while, like there’s the Atlanta Rhythm Section who I love.
MR: This is the first time I have heard somebody bring up the Atlanta Rhythm Section in a long time.
GS: They are so good. “Spooky” is one of my favorite songs of all time.
MR: Is that what you sing for your chicks?
GS: I don’t think I’ve ever played “Spooky” for a girl.
MR: What are some of your favorite songs?
GS: I had to decide that earlier this year. It’s “I’m Crazy ‘Bout My Baby (And She’s Crazy About Me)” for the simple fact that it makes you feel so damn good. No matter what mood I’m in, I listen to that song, and it just lifts you up. It’s one of those songs that you just close your eyes and tilt your head back and snap your fingers.
MR: Do you think that’s a mission of music, to make people feel good?
GS: For sure, that’s like half the battle. Music is supposed to bring something out of you. Sure, it’s an outlet for expressing feelings of dismay at times, but it’s also supposed to lift you up and make you feel great, and that’s what that song does.
MR: Did your father try to lay some music on you that you didn’t really like?
GS: You know what? Me and my dad have very similar musical tastes, so rarely does he come to me with something that I don’t like. He just has great taste–like he just gave me a Gene Harris CD. He is a smooth jazz piano player and I’ve been eating it up. He’s got a version of “Black And Blue” on there, it’s just beautiful. Rarely, my dad and I butt heads musically.
MR: I have to turn you onto Dianne Reeves.
GS: I have her on my iTunes, but I never listened to it.
MR: What does the future bring for Graham Stookey?
GS: I hope it’s bright. I hope things pan out the way I’m hoping. I just say we are trying to be smart about it. We are shopping for labels, we are doing everything big and small trying to find the right fit.
MR: We leave anything out?
GS: I think I pretty much covered everything. I just want to make music is the thing. I want to play live for people. I found out, coming out of the basement, the little bit that I have, that I absolutely love playing for people. I thrive off of the audience. Even that Lenny Kravitz thing on Oprah. It was only to 300 people in the studio audience, but I loved it.
MR: Being a new artist, do you have any advice for new artists?
GS: Wow. What advice would I give myself? I would say stamina. In the four months that I’m kind of getting into this, it’s 95% business and 5% playing my guitar. It takes a lot of stamina and a lot of perseverance, and you have to put in a lot of work that has nothing to do with your song or writing music, and everything to do with the business side of it. So, you really have to be willing to go through all of those motions so someday, you can play on stage for people. That’s what keeps me going. Sometimes, I think it’s stupid and it’s not what I signed up for, but my advice is stick with it. Man up, take it, keep your eye on the bright side, and look at the goal.
MR: I like that. Now, get back to class.
GS: (laughs) I’m in JFK right now waiting for my airplane, so I’ve got a few hours before I have to go home and deal with reality.
MR: It sounds like you’re having a great time. I really wish you the best and have a lot of fun with it.
GS: I feel blessed that this whole thing has happened and that I’m surrounded by such great people.
MR: Seriously, I wish all of the best for you.
Transcribed by Theo Shier